It’s been a cold stormy weekend in San Diego. Left the unseasonably warm weather of Chicago for my cousin’s retirement ceremony from the United States Marine Corps. That was yesterday. Today, we’re celebrating my aunt’s 70th birthday. Relatives and friends have arrived from all over to celebrate both milestones.

I’m hoping that the palm tree filled landscape and the Hawaiian themed function rooms in the hotel would help warm things up, but somehow the chilly 55 degree air is winning, although the island décor does take me back to my recent trip to Honolulu with Aunt Millie in late February. My memory of tropical breezes and the sandy beach is the closest thing to a heat wave.

My last day in the island was my most vivid memory. It was pouring rain outside that afternoon when I left the hotel and got in the Island Express van to head for the Honolulu Airport.

“One more stop,” a voice darted from the driver’s seat. It didn’t really matter to me as I was in no rush to leave Waikiki. The sun kept us company every day of our week stay and blew warm, gentle breezes especially in the afternoons as the sun was setting. The sound of the rain as the van sped on the highway slowly changed into the sound of the surf that I left behind just minutes ago.

Aunt Millie had an earlier flight that would take her back to Sonoma, CA. She visits Hawaii frequently and, once a year, the entire family always awaits news of the lucky soul chosen to be her traveling companion.

“You seem to be buried in work all the time. You need a break, and I’m giving it to you,” Aunt Millie said to me in the fall 2011. TA-DA! I had blocked off an entire week in February before you could say ALOHA!

Since I’ve been to the islands and did the tourist rounds years ago, for this visit we chose to explore the one passion we share to no limits — food! Local fare is truly a melting pot of largely Pacific Asian cuisine including Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Polynesian. We ate our way through Waikiki and savored every minute of it.

What I enjoyed most was listening to her reminisce as we enjoyed the garlic crab and ahi tuna, chicken with teriyaki sauce and pork grilled over a fire pit. Having been raised in a large home with her mother, sister, aunts, uncles and cousins, Aunt Millie’s storytelling rolls out a rich tapestry of relationships with intricate nuances and depth – family secrets revealed! When blended with the colorful palette of flavors served in front of us, time simply stands still.

I saw her off as her van left the driveway of the hotel. But not before saying her goodbyes to Todd at the reception desk, Bernard at the bellhop station, RJ at the tour desk, and Daisy at the souvenir shop.Then it hit me — these were the same folks who greeted her one week earlier with the words, “Welcome home, Auntie!”

Suddenly it was as if someone had opened the floodgates letting her stories come flowing through like a motion picture in my mind, this time with Todd, Bernard, RJ and Daisy adding their own vivid hues.  I realized with undeniable clarity that Aunt Millie’s stories not only revealed the ties that bind in my family, but also created new ties with people that welcome her back like family, time and again.

If you want to make someone feel at home, tell them a story. After you leave, they can’t wait to welcome you back.

A few weeks ago, I found this inspiring blog by Diego Rodriguez, partner at IDEO, where his work helps organizations bring breakthroughs to market.

In his blog, Diego lists twenty principles of innovation. Each is a statement of truth that helps us cut through our clutter. It’s a slap in the face and an encouraging nod at the same time. It’s more than a mind shift. It even goes beyond what defines the culture of an organization. Rather it is a belief system that keeps you moving forward, willing to take risks and open to new possibilities.

Two that resonate with me the most:

“See and hear with the mind of a child.”— without bias, without judgement, with infinite imagination

“Always ask: How do we want people to feel after they experience this?”— because they forget what you did or what you said, but they remember how you made them feel.

Stories help us to feel. We live in a world more complicated than ever before. And the only way we can make sense of it is through stories. We can come to understand the nuances of a situation by connecting the dots in the same way characters weave through their struggles in a story.

More importantly, innovation can be born out of a story. Experiencing the world and all its surprises will inspire any number of narratives. Chances are at least one will lead you down a path you’ve never taken before where you can discover something remarkable.

Since the launch of Barkada Circle, I find myself speaking more frequently in front of a diverse audience. While I have done many business presentations in the past, I realize that it takes a unique set of speaking skills to deliver a compelling story.

So I recently joined the Toastmasters club in my neighborhood. This has proven to be one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my career. My fellow club members are wonderfully sincere about helping one another. I’ve been a member of several groups, small and large, and Unity Toastmasters ranks in my top three in terms of displaying professionalism, providing encouragement and fostering camaraderie.

Thanks to the invaluable feedback from fellow members, I’m able to identify specific areas I need to work on, not just to be a better speaker but also to be a better listener. With that, I know I’m on the right path to providing a better storytelling experience for my audience.

It’s no secret. There’s always room for improvement, especially in communication. I feel fortunate for having discovered a place to help me in the process.

If you can find the time to join your local Toastmasters club, I highly encourage that you do. It will be one of the best decisions you can make in your life. I guarantee it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzRH95hfUXs

Jessye Norman, legendary opera singer and five-time Grammy winner, talks about her artistic roots and the value of bringing music to a younger generation.

Ms. Norman reminisces how her grandmother would sing herself through the tasks of her day. “It was clear to me that these songs were created by people who needed something to take them from where they were to where they would prefer to have been,” Ms. Norman says. This makes the singer also a storyteller.

When asked about the value of exposing children of color to opera, Ms. Norman describes how the arts can broaden the minds of children and adults alike, helping us all to realize that we live in an expansive world and that we have voices inside of us that can be expressed and heard. She recalls that Albert Einstein considered his gift of imagination to have had more meaning to him than his talent for absorbing knowledge.

Ms. Norman concludes by saying that “…the arts provides a passage from one human being to another. Everybody has the same potential if given the same opportunity.”